Mainz 05 held by stubborn Stuttgart

Mainz 05 missed the chance to climb up to fourth in the Bundesliga as Stuttgart held firm to secure a goalless draw this evening.

The opening exchanges were a sign of things to come as the two sides struggled to create opportunities as much of the battle took place in midfield.

Stuttgart had the first chance of the night when poor marking gifted space to Alexandru Maxim, but his effort from the edge of the box was tipped away by Loris Karius.

Lukas Rupp then threatened to break the deadlock for the visitors with a powerful strike which came back off the post as Karius scrambled across his line.

Mainz started the second half strongly, and they were close to taking the lead when Yoshinori Muto turned into space in the box before forcing a save from Przemyslaw Tyton.

The hosts were on top for much of the second half, but they struggled to build on their spells on top as Stuttgart dropped deeper to limit the opportunities on offer.

Tyton came to Stuttgart's rescue once again late on to get a strong hand to a half-volley from Pablo de Blasis as Mainz failed to make the breakthrough.